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Google opens French HQ amidst European antitrust objections

It’s nearly funny: one day, Google is preparing to defend itself from an “abuse of dominance” complaint from the European Commission. And today, less than a week later, Gallic Chair Nicolas Sarkozy himself appeared with Google Executive Chair Eric Schmidt at the opening of Google’s young Paris headquarters, extolling the hunting giant’s American values.

Check away Google’s European Public Policy blog if you don’t believe me. Chair Sarkozy is quoted equally rhetorically asking the room, “Why equally President, do I construct this symbolic motion and come to Google? I love the United States, and its motto that everything is possible whatever your origins.”

The new 10,000 square meter Google office isn’t but handling operations in France, equally the hunting giant plans on applying it as its nerve gist for operations in Southern Europe, the Center East and Africa.

What’s more, Google says that its investment in France goes beyond just purchasing the refurbished 19th century Second Empire building - YouTube is working to collecting royalties for Gallic music copyright associations, French publisher Hachette will start list out-of-print works on Google Books, and Google has announced a partnership with Gallic3 national enquiry lab CNRS.

But perchance almost importantly, Google will be looking to hire Gallic9 engineers and other professionals to populate its new European headquarters. And to help boost the local startup scene, Google has declared Startup Café, a tools and training programme for entrepreneurs.

I do desire to conk back to that original point, though. I can’t exist the only one who finds it foreign that the European Commission has Google on the hook for a provisional solvent from its antitrust investigation by early Jan while, at the same time, Chair1 Sarkozy is singing the praises of Google’s international growth.

In fairness, the chairman doesn’t mouth for the European Commission, and the commission doesn’t talk for Chair5 Sarkozy. If Google may hand France’s economy a boost, it’s slow to see why he would select to appear at the grand opening.

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